Kendrick Lamar Becomes First Rapper to Win a Pulitzer Prize

Kendrick Lamar Becomes First Rapper to Win a Pulitzer Prize

Kendrick Lamar now has a Pulitzer Prize to go with all his Grammy Awards.

Lamar’s “DAMN” was announced as the recipient of the prestigious award on Monday, a history-making first for a rap artist, as the music award is typically given to classical or jazz works.

DAMN is Lamar’s fourth studio album and was released in April 2017.

The album picked up best rap album at the Grammy Awards in January and his song “Humble” also picked up best rap performance, best rap song and best music video.

The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.

Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In twenty of the categories, each winner receives a certificate and a U.S. $15,000 cash award (raised from $10,000 in 2017). The winner in the public service category of the journalism competition is awarded a gold medal.